Beards are in late-season form as Giants pitchers and catchers report, plus other Day 1 notes and quotes

Pitchers, catchers and beat writers reported to Scottsdale today, and if not for the large banner that welcomes you to the clubhouse, there would be little evidence that anything had changed for these merry, madcap San Francisco Giants.

There usually isn’t much hard news to come out of reporting day. It’s more about setting the scene and getting a fix on the mood. With that in mind, here are some images, notes and quotes from a very sunny and yet very chillaxed day in Scottsdale:

One item was missing from Lincecum’s ensemble: The wispy mustache he sported at FanFest.

“My dog licked it off,” he said, smiling.

Brian Wilson and Sergio Romo still have their beards. In fact, they’re looking more lush and sculpted than ever. It won’t be long before the beards could come in handy when executing the ol’ hidden-ball trick.

“Oh, I knew he’d have it,” Romo said of Wilson’s face mane. “We spoke about it. We took pictures in the offseason and sent them to each other to see how they changed. And whoa, his is full. (But) I can say that yes, mine is honestly its true color.”

And what about Wilson’s recent appearance as some kind of Dos Equis man/sea captain on “George Lopez,” when his beard appeared to be painted gray?

“It’s the camera angle,” Wilson deadpanned. “Stressful week.”

Interestingly, Wilson said he wouldn’t commit to keeping the beard throughout the 2011 season. Romo also said he’d happily take the lawnmower to his face if club officials asked him to tone it down, too.

Of course, that would upset the Giants fan named Danny who began tweeting as @RomosBeard. Nobody enjoys the messages more than Romo himself, who often tweets his beard good night or apologizes for getting food on it.

“I’ve never met the guy, but he’s literally talking as if he’s on my face,” Romo said.

I will pause here to say you’re welcome, Sergio, for putting that quote in its proper context.

—
Left-hander Alex Hinshaw added 15 pounds of muscle after ramping up his offseason workouts. He definitely looks stronger and is determined to get back to the big leagues.

Hinshaw pitched for Mexicali this winter, which was Romo’s former team. Predictably, all anyone wanted to ask him about was Romo’s beard. It’s an international sensation.

—
I wrote a feature on Buster Posey (to be accompanied by Tim Kawakami’s column on the prospect of the Posey-led Giants). Look for it in Tuesday’s paper or online once it’s posted. Check the notebook for the whereabouts of the historic baseball that Wilson threw to strike out Nelson Cruz and clinch the first World Series in the San Francisco Giants’ 53-year history. No, it’s not stuck in his beard. But it’s somewhere almost as strange.

Also in the notebook: Bruce Bochy gave an honest opinion when asked about all the pundits who proclaimed the Phillies rotation, which now includes Cliff Lee, as the best in the NL.

Bochy’s surprising response: They’re right.

“You look at the track record, and you’d have to say the Phillies have the best staff in the league,” Bochy said. “The road to the World Series will have to go through Philadelphia.”

This sounds like the Bizarro version of what Lee said about the Giants earlier this month.

“I mean, they’re the defending champions still, and until someone takes it from them they’re the champions,” Lee said. “I think it’s going to go through them.”

Bochy qualified his opinion, though.

“Now, we’re proud of our staff,” he said. “We still don’t think they got the credit they deserved for the way they pitched in the postseason. We feel we match up well with anybody. But you add Cliff Lee to Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels, and the track record they have, and that’s hard to overlook.”

Down the stretch last year, there were many times that Bochy dropped a little psychology in his words and actions. For instance, he told players not to pack for a potential one-game playoff in San Diego in the season’s final weekend.

So perhaps Bochy doesn’t mind doing his part to reinforce the notion that the Giants are underdogs once more. It worked well for them last season, after all.

“We believe in ourselves,” he said. “We won’t get caught up in expectations. Last year, I don’t know when we were the favorites – ever. And we found a way to get it done. To us, it doesn’t matter what other people think. It’s what we think, and we’ll stay with that philosophy.”

—
Bochy is also staying with the philosophy that sleep is good. The team will start its workouts at 10 a.m. this spring.

Darn that dreaded morning dew. Takes too long to burn off, you know.

—Strong piece by Yahoo’s Tim Brown on Bochy. It really captured the man, and could only be written by someone who has known him for a number of years.

Their interview followed a lengthy steak dinner. I asked Bochy what night he planned to sit down for a ribeye with me. Then for some reason, he asked to see the expiration date on my corporate credit card.

Sanchez was asked about his 96 walks, which led the NL last year. He said he’s “just gotta work on walking less people.” But he didn’t seem too urgent about addressing it.

“That’s the game,” he said in the next breath. “You want people to swing and miss. As long as the walks don’t score, I’ll be fine.”

—
I introduced myself to first baseman Brandon Belt today. He doesn’t have to be here until Friday, but he was among the dozen or so minor leaguers who participated in a mini conditioning camp in Arizona last week, and figured he’d just continue to work out and hit locally.

Belt had some funny things to say about his appearance at a card and autograph show in the Bay Area this winter.

“I really felt like I didn’t belong at all,” he said. “I look around and see Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, and I’m thinking, `What am I doing here?’ But it was a good experience.”

Belt’s autograph was $25. You could get five of them for the price of a Buster Posey autograph.

Belt didn’t have to pay for any of the signatures he collected, though, and you’d better believe he made sure to get Emmitt Smith’s script on a few items.

“Oh yeah, I was all over it,” he said. “I grew up a Cowboys fan.”

Belt said he plans to be reserved and keep his ears open this spring. He named Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell as veterans from whom he hopes to learn. As Henry Schulman tweeted, we’re assuming young Brandon is talking about on-field lessons here.

—
On a note completely unrelated to Pat Burrell, I am eager to watch the “Man vs. Machine” matches on Jeopardy this week. The Machine doesn’t say much, but I’m told he always remembers to phrase in the form of a question.

—
Today’s “The Rundown” is now up on the Extra Baggs Youtube channel. This remains a work in progress and is a pain to upload, but I’ll keep them going as long as I can.

Incidentally, if you’d like to do pro bono makeup/lighting work and you live in the greater Phoenix area, please drop me a line. I would ask for a hairstylist, too, but I don’t believe in miracles.

—
I’m happy to report that “A Band of Misfits” will ship on March 15 and should be on bookshelves in Bay Area stores by opening day or shortly thereafter. It’s available for preorder on Amazon.com and other online retailers, or if you can wait a bit longer, I’ll be signing copies May 11 at the San Jose Giants game. We’ll schedule more talks/readings/Q&A sessions in the near future and I’ll make sure to let you know about them.

Andrew Baggarly

Andrew Baggarly has documented the most eventful era in San Francisco Giants baseball history, having covered the team since 2004 for th​ree major media outlets including the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune​. This is his 20th season as a baseball writer.
​Baggarly is the author of the bestselling book, A Band of Misfits: Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants, and the newly published Giant Splash: Bondsian Blasts, World Series Parades and Other Thrilling Moments By the Bay. Baggarly’s other notable life accomplishments include running as the Bratwurst in the Milwaukee Sausage Race and becoming a three-time Jeopardy! champion.

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So the pitchers and catchers and some minor leaguers reported today.
Let us hope that we are still posting deep into October and into early November.

J-Rod

I have not missed a single Extra Baggs post. Funniest line ever in history of this blog: “I will pause here to say you’re welcome, Sergio, for putting that quote in its proper context.” Awesome. Just awesome.

JD

Baggs, how do we go about getting your John Hancock on a copy of your book if we don’t live the Bay Area? Can we mailed it to the Merc office and have you sign it?

PNWGiantsfan

Today is that special day that comes only once a year, the chance to take your loved one by the hand, look them endearingly in the eyes, and whisper softly into their ears… “Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training today”. ♥♥
Oh, and Watson did very well!

Ben

I read somewhere that Pablo was one of the hitters that has reported early. Are the rumors true? Does he look a little leaner?

It’s exciting to be reading these updates again, and I’m very much looking forward to your book. Could you do us a favor and ask Huff if he’s planning to blog again this year? I loved his posts.

poknows

I’m excited about Giants 2011!!

Ryan

My lovely wife pre-ordered the book for me….I can’t wait to read it !!!!

I hope you sign some at some book stores so I can’t get it signed !!!

Purplepear

I’m so excited that daily baseball updates are back! I don’t know what I’d do without you Baggs! As a token of gratitude and of course for my own personal satisfaction I preordered your book! Can’t wait to read it. It should be coming in soon after I get back from spring training!

dose of reality

so excited about the return of Giants baseball … wish I was in AZ right now.

Mavo

Special day today: Pitchers and catchers report! Play Ball!!

Welcome back Baggs! I look forward to another great season of Giants baseball and Extrabaggs!

And I have to admit it… I STILL get choked up and teary-eyed when I watch Wilson strike out Cruz and Buster jumping all over the place!! I hope that feeling NEVER goes away… waiting 52 years for something DOES make it that much SWEETER!!!

Boston, bring it
Dodgers come on it is already over
San Diego, sorry but with AG gone so are you
Philly
Forgit about it
Who else wants a piece?
Yankees
Um I do not think so
Wow,it is beautiful here at the Mountain top
Please tell me we have enough food to stay here a long while : )

Long Suffering Giants Fan

Is anyone besides me sick of hearing about the Phillies all-time great starting rotation? Today I saw numerous stats posted that prove their greatness. One stat showed that their “Big 4” are 20-8 lifetime in the postseason.

What they failed to mention was: The “Big 4” are 2-5 against the the Giants in the postseason.

“Pitchers and catchers” The phrase of the day. Welcome back, CHAMPS!
You too, Baggs! The book has already been pre-ordered.

Sansui-Sans Haiku Corner

Where’s the “last out” ball?
“The ball’s in a candy dish”
That’s just about right…

Bob T Monster

That’s a good looking cover on the book, there! The pics are graphically well balanced and represent the team well, and the pseudo-SF logo in the middle is a nice touch.

Stephen

So intriqued by Brandon Belt. Wonder if he will be the next Will Clark or JR Phillips…

Sanchez Will Rock It Out 2011

I am going to the first opening spring training games in Scottsdale. I feel like a kid and it feels great. Hope to get some autographs of our pitching staff and just see baseball again. The crowds will be out. Hallelujah!

Kyle

baseball!

PBryan

What a sweet winter slumber dreaming orange and black.

Let the Phillies picthers get the hype. The more the merrier – just adds pressure. ESPN et al. will never enjoy the west coast sunsets so we may as well get used to it. I prefer we stay under the radar, like last year, until our younger pitchers take the marathon in Aug-Sep.

Z for CC?

Is “Danny” a guy?

Jack Wood

Baseball’s back, and the Giants are the defending champs. I hope they can do better than last year.

Thanks Baggs for this!

ClutchUp

The Comcast Inside the Club House with Kuiper and Krukow and several Giants groupings of players up on the stage: PRICELESS.

In other news:
Last week the Giants signed Elmer Dessens to a minor-league contract.
Now the deal with Dessens “fell through” and the Giants won’t be signing him, instead inking former Padres starter Brian Lawrence to a minor-league contract.

Lastly Lincecum says his wispy attempt at a moustache was licked away by his dog.

ClutchUp

@ Stephen –

Apparently Martie Lurie observed Ron Wotus working out Brandon Belt at first base on Monday. Lots of superlatives were begrudingly mentioned by Wotus (not wanting to push the envelope) but to sum up Martie: Wow. Defensively he is smooth and quick with tremendous arm and accuracy turning the double play. Strong enough arm to perhaps be a RF some day. Good enough NOW defensively to move Huff to LF. Will he hit as good as Posey? Only time will tell.
So Stephen I would bet Will Clark (JT Snow defensively) but NO JR Phillips.

@ Nate’s mom: Thank you for saying that. I heard RB interupt Andrew incessantly and RB now has another bad habit: When Tolbert says hello or goodbye to a guest and the guest is talking – hear comes RB jamming in his own hello or goodbye. My friggin’ gosh. That man must have enough proverbial naked photos of someone to keep his job. He has zero media acumen and terrible on air characteristics.

StanTheCaddy

ahhhhhhhh. i feel normal again.

ClutchUp

@ The Machine

Re: The Minus Side

You read Baggs entire story and all the posts to his thread and THAT IS ALL you came up with???

The Machine is more like Tin Man.

Lighten up, you try doing Andrew’s J.O.B.

The is NO minus side. SF Giants are WS Champs. No higher level in professional baseball on the planet.

bseismic

Best of times to be a Giants fan… Haters? Grab some pine!!

(can’t believe I just wrote that…)

Go Giants!

Tanner Balke

Question guys, what happens if the spuds don’t meet our price ? do we give in and let him go on the cheap ?

Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem with your website in internet explorer, would check this… IE still is the market leader and a huge portion of people will miss your excellent writing due to this problem.

Wilford Harvat

I’m down let me know when to show up remember about SMC on 2nd thr/mo and all the other events… refresh is on 1st tues/mo. Four Peaks is a great place btw… good choice see you there.You making upcoming or facebook events? can invite w/ facebook…